Page 1 of Face Off

1

Holly

“Sadie, my love, please stop kicking Mommy’s seat.” It took everything in me to keep my tone calm, but between my three-year-old treating my chair like a trampoline and the traffic in downtown Salt Lake City, I was on the verge of losing control.

“Mommy, play the turtle song,” she begged for the fifteenth time since we got in the car. I was normally grateful when a new song captured her attention. It gave me a break from the foxes, sharks, tacos, and the song that shall not be named by the most annoying princess in the world. Sorry—most annoying queen in the world. Sadie was always quick to remind me Elsa was a queen.

But the turtle song was so much worse than any of those.

“Not right now. I need to find your school.” I glanced between my phone and the signs on the freeway. Three more exits? That didn’t sound right. I’d be past downtown by then. I couldn’t check the route on my phone amidst the morning rush hour traffic, so I just had to trust the navigation until we got off. Each minute that ticked by made my anxiety rise.

“Mommy, I’m hungry.”

I checked over my shoulder for an opening in the line of cars so I could get closer to the exit lane. “Sadie, you had eggs and two pieces of toast less than twenty minutes ago.”

“But I’m hungry for candy now,” she whined.

“I don’t have any candy, and it’s too early for any. You can wait until snack time.” If we ever got to her preschool. I should have come here over the weekend so I knew exactly where I was going, but time flew by and there were more vital things to get done. Since I was able to register her online, I crossed it off my mental checklist and let it slip.

At least we were mostly settled into our new apartment. It had taken three weeks to unpack the last box, but it still didn’t feel like home. It wasn’t the nicest place, and much smaller than the house we’d had in Boulder, but it was safe and cozy and ours.

“Please. I’m so starving.” She kicked.

I ignored her and checked my phone again. The sign for our exit appeared, and I got over, waving my hand in thanks to the person behind me for letting me in.

“At the light, turn right,” the robotic woman’s voice instructed. I listened closely over Sadie’s pleas for sugar.

“Honey, I need you to be quiet for a few minutes.”

“Turn left.” I only caught the end of the directions and quickly moved into the left turn lane.

“Please!” Sadie cried, and I picked up my phone, making sure we were actually going to Beehive Early Learning. The address looked correct, but we were still a few blocks north of where it was located. I selected the fastest route, but maybe the shortest would be better next time.

I had fifteen minutes before I needed to be at my office.

For my first day of work.

I planned this all out so I would arrive with plenty of time, but now it was looking like I was going to be late. The perfect first impression. Stupid phones and stupid technology and stupid traffic.

“Mommy!” she cried with another kick.

“Almost there,” I told my daughter, and me. A few turns later and I saw the white, yellow, and green sign that welcomed us to a fun day of learning.

“Okay, Sadie. This is the new school we talked about. You’re going to make so many new friends and have fun new teachers. You’ll get to play on that big playground.” I pointed through the window as I unbuckled and opened my door.

When I got out and opened Sadie’s door, she was pouting. Oh no. We were nearing meltdown mode.

“Are you ready?” I asked in an attempt at sounding excited.

“No.” She crossed her little arms and looked away from me.

“Come on, sweetie. We talked about this. You’re going to love this place.” I reached under her arms to undo her buckles and straps.

“No!” she screamed in my face. “I don’t want to.”

I inhaled through my nose and counted to three.

“I wanna stay with you!” Her tear-filled eyes stared me down like she knew exactly what she was doing.